


In Memory

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, takes place sometime after 16x02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-18 12:46:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18699889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: Ellie will reluctantly admit it took her awhile to notice it. A tattoo that rested on the inside of his upper arm, and it was small enough that it was easily missed unless you looked closely.





	In Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Idea from child-from-mars on Tumblr, thank you so much and I hope it reaches your expectations ❤

Ellie will reluctantly admit it took her awhile to notice it.   
  
A tattoo that rested on the inside of his upper arm, and it was small enough that it was easily missed unless you looked closely. Nick wore long sleeves or jackets a lot of times, so it was easy for her to miss. Sure they went to the gym together before where his arms were on display..but she was mostly trying to avoid looking at him in those instances.   
  
It wasn't until after Qasim, after McGee and Gibbs, after Reeves and Abby, when she really saw it.   
  
That night as Nick was suddenly sitting there drunk on her doorstep talking about Reeves, pouring his heart out (as much as Nick could anyway). She had helped him inside, got some coffee into him, and gave him a pillow and blanket for the couch.   
  
Nick, still a little tipsy, had taken his shirt off in a slightly clumsy way that was sort of endearing (hot don't forget hot), his arms lifting making the tattoo show clearly in her line of sight.   
  
He fell asleep quickly after a mumbled ‘thanks Ell’, his arm with the tattoo thrown above his head leaving her the perfect opportunity to inspect it. She tried not to feel like a creep as she moved closer, grabbing her hair to make sure it didn't touch him as she leaned over.   
  
_Sofia_ was written in small cursive writing that looked a little feminine.   
  
Ellie quickly scurried to her room, knocking into a table in the hall in the process. A hiss and a curse left her mouth. Nick groaned from the couch making her freeze. She waited for any other sign that she might have woken him up but there was nothing making her breathe out in relief.   
  
It ran through her mind as she got ready for bed, and even when she closed her eyes. Only two hours after trying to fall asleep did she give up with a huff. Her mind wouldn't shut the hell up.   
  
Ellie grabbed her laptop and crawled back into bed. It was just research, she wasn't being a stalker or a creepy friend right? Her hands hovered over the keys. She'd only do a little bit of looking..and ask Nick about it later.   
  
But for right now..she went to his social media page (one that was carefully hidden when he had first went undercover). Ellie huffed when her eyes caught his number of friends, a number that went way past her own, now that he wasn't undercover anymore he could make all the friends he wanted. She cracked her fingers and went to work.   
  
It took a bit but she found something. There had been a post way back Nick had been tagged in about a Sofia, a ‘we miss you’/’in loving memory’ post. Along with it was a picture of a beautiful girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen in it, she was smiling wide and her eyes were shining.   
  
Ellie slammed her laptop shut. She swallowed, an odd twisting in her stomach.   
  


* * *

  
  
She didn't ask him about the next day. Or the next week. Or the next month.   
  
It had eventually slipped her mind, until one day at his apartment he asked her to grab his mail.   
  
Her eyes looked at the mail that was on top. It wasn't in an envelope just a thick glossed over card, an invitation from the looks of it. Ellie couldn't help but look at it, that same twisting in her stomach appearing when she saw the name Sofia written on it. It was an invitation to the ‘yearly’ memorial of one Sofia Perez.  
  
 _A time to remember and let her know we haven't forgotten._  
  
Ellie tore her eyes from it.   
  
“Hey..Nick?”   
  
Nick walked out of his bedroom. “What's up?”  
  
“Who's Sofia?”  
  
He froze. “W-What?”  
  
Ellie shifted her feet. “Well uh you got this in the mail.” She lifted the invitation. “And- there's your tattoo.”  
  
Best to not let him know about her stalker moment.   
  
Nick slowly grabbed it from her hands, Ellie watched him swallow and breathe out deeply. He walked over to the trash and tossed it inside.  
  
“You don't have to tell me anything!” She quickly said. “I was just being nosey it's fine-”  
  
“Ellie!” His hands landed on her shoulders. “Sit down and shut up for a second.”  
  
She gaped at him before shutting her mouth, darting past him to sit on the couch. For a second she wondered if he'd get mad at her, maybe yell or scold her for being nosey about his private life that he still kept locked up from all of them most of the time. Instead, Nick sat on the coffee table in front of her, letting out a loud deep breath as he ran a hand down his face.   
  
“Sofia and I knew each other since..forever, she was my best friend-”   
  
Ellie listened silently as Nick explained it all. How they were best friends practically attached at the hip, his feelings for her even how he thought he'd one day marry her, the cancer, her having hope through it all, her hope in turn giving him hope that was shattered when he got that phone call, and the picture on his desk that Sofia had been the one to take. He then explained getting the tattoo to remember his best friend, a tattoo which was actually _her_ handwriting. The whole time, she had to struggle not to reach for his hand or pull him into a hug. His eyes full of the pain of losing someone close, it made her heart clench remembering her own experiences with loss and seeing how much it still affected him.   
  
“It sounds like you really love her.” Ellie whispered. “Did you- were you guys ever-” She stumbled over the question, it felt rude to ask at that moment but there was this need to know. God why couldn't her feelings shut up for a moment.  
  
Nick ducked his head for a second and shrugged. “There was..one night.” He scoffed. “We made that stupid pact, you know the whole have our first times with someone we trusted and were comfortable with, get them out of the way.”   
  
They went silent until Nick spoke again.   
  
“You uh- you didn't use the word love in past tense.”   
  
Ellie blinked. “Oh..” Her cheeks colored. “Well maybe you still love her I don't know-”  
  
“I don't.”  
  
A breath left her, the twisting in her stomach loosening. She felt guilty for feeling insecure and jealous of Sofia, someone who sounded like a good person if Nick's tone was anything to go by. But she couldn't deny the little thought in the back of her head about how she could ever measure up to the beautiful girl who had taken hold of his heart which was completely unfair considering her past relationships.   
  
“I'm sorry-” She held back a cringe as the words left her mouth. “It's none of my business and-”  
  
Nick's hands suddenly in her's, giving them a squeeze, stopped her. She slowly looked at him, her heart jumping at the intensity of his gaze.  
  
“I still love her as a friend I'll always miss, but I don't love her anymore.” Nick smiled a little, and if Ellie didn't know any better she'd think he looked a little nervous. “See there's this nerdy blonde who has a disgusting love of bacon brown sugar chips and sour patch kids ice cream-”  
  
Ellie's eyes widened. _Oh..oh my god..was he finally?_  
  
“She kind of wormed her way right in, practically from the beginning even if it took me a while to realize.”  
  
“Nick..” She breathed his name out, a slight look of wonder on her face.   
  
“That is..if I haven't taken too long getting my head outta my ass?”   
  
Ellie laughed breathlessly, not being able to help the way her eyes watered slightly at finally hearing a confession.   
  
“You could never be too late.” She said softly. “You kind of wormed your way right in too, even if it probably took longer for _me_ to notice.”   
  
Nick smiled, leaning over to capture her lips with his own. Ellie felt like her heart was about to burst with happiness, their hands still linked as they savored the feel of each other.   
  
Moments later after they shared more kisses (and one lengthy make out that had her tempted to drag him to the bedroom), Ellie had her legs thrown over his as a movie played on his TV.   
  
“Nick? What about-” Ellie pointed to the trash can, knowing he'd know what she was talking about.  
  
“I never go.” He said with a shrug. “Going means seeing all the people I knew from high school, and talking with all of them about her..it just doesn't seem right.”   
  
“Why not?”  
  
“I suck at touchy feely Ellie, you know this.” Ellie rolled her eyes, making him give her a look. “Okay fine, a lot of the people who go are people who talked behind her back, some to her face, and yes I know I'm the one who told you people change and high school was a while ago when we ran into Buckner, but it's just wrong to me that I'll be surrounded by them honoring her memory when they didn't even appreciate her while she was here.”   
  
Ellie leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against his. “I'm not going to try and make you go Nick. I get it, I really do. I was just curious.”   
  
He ran his fingers through her hair softly, a little fluttering in her stomach at the action. “You're pretty amazing Ellie Bishop.”  
  
Ellie grinned. “I am, aren't I?”  
  
Nick threw his head back and laughed before pulling her close, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. It was something so soft and loving that she let out a happy sigh. Nick grinned at the sound, his fingers trailing along her side.   
  
A year later two weeks before their wedding, Nick had another tattoo and Ellie now had her first one.   
  
L&C  
  
C&L  
  
Their beginning to the love of a lifetime, forever in memory. 


End file.
